The Comprehensive Saviors of Uldum Preview

Pharaoh Cat

A 1 mana 1/2 generator is very strong considering that many 1/1 generators have seen play before. Most of the reborn minions are also early-game oriented, which often gives us playable follow up to the cat. Can also occasionally give us a class card, but it’s not something we can count on in terms of Quest/Vendetta/Fence activation. Rogue doesn’t have a good 1-drop, so it should welcome the cat with open arms.

Score: 3

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Clever Disguise

This is a big upgrade on the original Burgle spell from years ago, costing 1 mana less and only generating spells. Clever Disguise is also the strongest quest activator available, completing half the quest by itself for just 2 mana spent. It is absolutely crucial for the new Quest Rogue, but a good value card in general that we’re not upset running.

Score: 3

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Hooked Scimitar

A 3 mana 4/2 weapon is strong, challenging Waggle Pick as the weapon of choice for Rogues who want to bash your face in. It’s also possible that aggressive Rogue decks will run 4 weapons and give up Prep/Raiding Party to free up slots for faster cards. Either way, Hooked Scimitar is certainly an interesting consideration since its damage to mana ratio is so efficient.

Score: 3

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Plague of Madness

Not only does the design of this card not feel like a plague, but it’s also an awful card. Rogues can’t afford to help their opponents kill their minions just so they can utilize a single target removal card that’s worse than all their other single target removal cards. If we were that desperate for a weapon tech in Rogue, which we’ve never been, we’d run Ooze.

Score: 1

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Sahket Sapper

A 4/4 with a built-in Sap in its deathrattle may look like a powerful card, until a Warrior plays a Militia Commander into it on turn 4. Or a Zilliax. Or any rush minion. Or any big minion that can be easily replayed. Or any strong battlecry minion. The point is that Sap is a much worse card when your opponent can manipulate what gets sapped, and sometimes it will be to their benefit. If we were ever desperate for this effect, we’d run the real thing.

Score: 1

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Bazaar Mugger

This is a very high-value card that also generates decent tempo. It kills a minion, usually leaves a body and gives us a minion in hand, sometimes acting as a 3 for 1. It’s also in a class that doesn’t have a strong class-specific 5-drop and is happy to receive playable Vendetta/Quest activators. Just solid overall.

Score: 3

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Whirlkick Master

Bad stat-line and weak ability. It’s almost impossible to chain this card in a meaningful way and Rogue has better value generators that don’t sacrifice tempo to perform their duties. A homeless man’s Underbelly Angler.

Score: 1

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Shadow of Death

This card has some combo potential, but it needs to be more than just good with Myra’s Unstable Element to be played. Many cards already are good with MUE and they do more than spend 4 mana doing nothing. Leeroy is the most obvious target for Shadow of Death, but this card probably needs to find another good reason to see play.

Score: 2

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Anka the Buried

A good card with the potential to elevate deathrattle decks, but deathrattle decks probably need more help than a 1-of legendary to find consistency in their game plan. If Deathrattle Rogue emerges, Anka will be a staple for the archetype, but it will struggle to find play otherwise. As for Mecha’thun, remember what we said about things that are good with MUE?

Score: 2

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Bazaar Burglary

This quest can be completed at lightning speed by doing things that Rogue already does and supports, with a reward that promotes everything that Rogue wants to do. A permanent Fiery War Axe with immunity as early as turn 5 or 6 is crazy strong. Think of it as another version of the hero power available to Malfurion the Pestilent. It can kill a lot of minions and give us card advantage and board control, push a significant amount of damage to our opponent’s face and save us a significant amount of health in the process. Vendetta Rogue has a good reason to think about adding Bazaar Burglary to its game plan since it can make up for any lost ground before the quest was completed very quickly.

Score: 4

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Final Thoughts

Saviors of Uldum Set Rank: 4^th

Overall Power Ranking: 2^nd

Rogue’s sets tend to be polarizing, with nutty cards alongside some classic memes. This set is no different, but what ends up mattering is how powerful the nutty cards are. We think Bazaar Burglary is no laughing matter. It might be the fastest quest in the set thanks to Clever Disguise, and we feel that its reward could be underestimated.

But Rogue doesn’t necessarily need the quest to succeed. It’s already a very versatile class with many powerful cards, and its established archetypes did get some nice additions that should keep them competitive. We must remember that Rogue went through the entirety of Rise of Shadows without a meaningful turn 1 play, and now it’s getting one of the stronger turn 1 plays in the format, Pharaoh Cat. We don’t find it likely that entirely new Rogue archetypes will emerge in Uldum, but Rogue is an unpredictable class that can always pull off something we don’t expect, and there’s some trickery available in the neutral pool.